Tattle: Room 434 now a 'shrine'

By Howard Gensler

Posted: February 15, 2012

OK, GHOULS, the room you want at the Beverly Hilton is 434.

According to TMZ.com, that's where Whitney Houston drowned in the bathtub.

By now, the crime-scene folks have gone over the room and the chambermaids have scrubbed the porcelain and replaced the towels, so 434, overlooking the fountain in front of the hotel, is back in service.

And someone is already staying there.

According to a hotel rep who spoke with TMZ, the room has already become a creepy shrine, and people are clamoring for it.

It's booked for the "foreseeable future" at $375 per night.

* Whitney's family is asking that any donations in her memory be sent to the Whitney Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts, in East Orange, N.J.

She attended the school as a girl when it was named the Franklin School and was a regular visitor for many years afterward.

* Whitney's invitation-only service will be Saturday in the church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child.

The owner of the Whigham Funeral Home, in Newark, said yesterday that the pop diva's funeral will be at noon at the New Hope Baptist Church, in Newark. The funeral home said that no wake would be held and that there would be no public memorial at Newark's Prudential Center.

Whitney, 48, died Saturday afternoon, a few hours before she was to perform downstairs at producer Clive Davis' pre-Grammy Awards bash.

* After an autopsy Sunday, authorities said that there were no indications of foul play and no obvious signs of trauma.

Whitney's trauma was all on the inside.

* Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to make a buck, Sony may release Whitney's remake of "Sparkle" over Memorial Day, instead of in August.

So reported Radaronline.com.

Sony denied the story.

TATTBITS

* On the 83rd anniversary of

the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Las Vegas honored one of its earliest relationships with the grand opening of a publicly funded, $42 million Mob Museum, dedicated to the "entrepreneurs" who made Sin City. There are tommy guns, money stacks and a bullet-riddled brick wall from the 1929 massacre that saw Al Capone seize control of the Chicago mob.

The opening, however, became a mob scene when a man opened fire on one of the exhibits.

Oh, sorry, that was an episode of "CSI."

* Kenny Rogers

is suing Capitol Records, claiming that the company has not properly paid him for digital downloads, ringtones and other uses of his songs.

An attorney for Capitol said: "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em."

* Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra are among those scheduled to join Lady Gaga at Harvard University Feb. 29 for the launch of her Born This Way Foundation.

The foundation will address issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development through research, education and advocacy. It's partnering with the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the California Endowment and the Berkman Center at Harvard to explore the best ways to create a culture of kindness, bravery, acceptance and empowerment.

Tattle recommends that the first group to learn from the foundation are the writers of the racist, homophobic, hate-filled reader responses on philly.com.

* Director

Michael Bay plans a fresh take on robotics with a fourth "Transformers" movie. Paramount said Monday night that Bay would return to direct the next chapter in the blockbuster series, due in theaters June 29, 2014. Because there's still so much left to say.